Monday, May 7, 2012

Wanted: New Experiments for Space Station Science

Denise Chow, SPACE.com Staff Writer

Date: 07 May 2012 Time: 06:25 PM ET

Astronaut Don Pettit posted this image on his blog March
26, 2012. He wrote: "This picture was taken pointing to port, so it
shows the end of the port truss with solar panels. Click on the images
to see them larger."CREDIT: Don Pettit

A nonprofit organization that has been tasked with managing research on
the American portions of the International Space Station will begin
accepting proposals for specific projects beginning in June, company
officials announced recently.
The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space
(CASIS) was selected by NASA in 2011 to manage the space station's U.S.
National Laboratory, and to maximize use of these facilities while the
orbiting outpost remains operational — planned until at least 2020.
Starting in June, CASIS will begin accepting solicitations for life
science research projects to fly on the space station that examine
osteoporosis, muscle deterioration, immune system responses, protein
crystallization and vaccine development in a microgravity environment.
"The thing that the space station provides us with is tremendous
capability already on orbit," Alan Stern, a planetary scientist at the
Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., and a science advisor to
CASIS, told reporters at the 28th National Space Symposium in Colorado
Springs, Colo., via a video conference call
MORE: http://www.space.com/15579-space-station-science-research-casis.html